[Fastrudy]

Drink the Kool-Aid™ while you are there.
There are amazing non-VPN places that strive to be rigidly Neapolitan in nature, and there are those that serve pizzas that are both traditionally Neapolitan and that are Neapolitan-inspired. What they have in common is that they don't view an outside organization's certification as having any bearing on what they do. They hue to an internal benchmark of success.
$2000 to get certified and yearly dues? I could never get so low as to even think of a scam that good.

[Cyborgt800]

^^^^^ That's the same scam the BBB uses!

Screw awards...my tastebuds are my guide!

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by Fastrudy

Drink the Kool-Aidâ„¢ while you are there.
There are amazing non-VPN places that strive to be rigidly Neapolitan in nature, and there are those that serve pizzas that are both traditionally Neapolitan and that are Neapolitan-inspired. What they have in common is that they don't view an outside organization's certification as having any bearing on what they do. They hue to an internal benchmark of success.
$2000 to get certified and yearly dues? I could never get so low as to even think of a scam that good.

The $2,000 is to pay for the inspectors who fly over from Italy. Hey, at least Italy lets other areas in on their little club. The Champagne region for instance, does not. It doesn't matter how good the sparkling wine is in Napa, it isn't Champagne.

Go distill some sour mash whiskey outside of Kentucky and call it "Bourbon" and see where that gets you.

[kimba01]

What Is VPN Pizza? | Slice Pizza Blog


Interesting.

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

The closest you can get without buying an airplane ticket is Settebello. Make sure you order some of Armandino Batali's salumi as an appetizer as well. I think the only thing keeping Settebello from tasting exactly like a real Neapolitan pizza is 200 years of use for the brick oven. It's kind of like the Chinese yixing clay teapots -- after a few hundred years, the pot is as important to the flavor as the tea leaves. That's why those old pots sell for tens of thousands of dollars. Some are even considered national treasures. The pizza ovens of Italy work the same mojo for pizza as the yixing pots do for tea.

IMO, the pizza margherita is the one to get first. It's basic. A little sauce, some good buffalo mozzarella and basil. That's the standard by which all other pizzas are judged.

And I wouldn't even call a Chicago "pizza" a pie. A pie doesn't have a crust that can only be measured with a yardstick. What they're eating in Illinois is basically a round pagnotta with a sausage casserole on top. There's nothing wrong with that. But it isn't pizza. It isn't even in the same ballpark.

The thing that irks me about the American "our regional pizza is the best" crapola is that it isn't even our national dish. For instance, we're the authority on barbecue. No other country can lay claim to barbecue greatness like America. Someone from Chicago blathering on about pizza is like someone from Milan making grand sweeping assertions about barbecue. Neither one has the necessary street cred.

If an Italian routinely wins trophies on the American barbecue circuit, I'll pay attention to what he or she has to say about barbecue. VPN certification for a pizzeria is like winning a barbecue trophy for a smokehouse. There are only a few dozen VPN-certified pizzerias in America. Settebello is one of them.

I would also note that pizza is not so much "Italian" as southern Italian. Naples not Milan. Don't think it got even as high as Florence. My first wife was American born but a pure bred. The family had no use for pizza - called it American junk food. Much more into macaroni and meat dishes. My children still make excellent Spaghetti with the sauce semi-from scratch.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by lvoc

I would also note that pizza is not so much "Italian" as southern Italian. Naples not Milan. Don't think it got even as high as Florence. My first wife was American born but a pure bred. The family had no use for pizza - called it American junk food. Much more into macaroni and meat dishes. My children still make excellent Spaghetti with the sauce semi-from scratch.

The thing about Italian food is that there really is no such thing. What we now consider "Italy" was up until very recently a hodgepodge of city-states, non-Italian colonies and kingdoms. San Marino, for instance, never embraced the "nation state" and continues to be an anachronism. While there is considerable national unity, their food is still very much regional.

Which is why I wonder why I meet Americans who tell me that they're "Italian." They don't speak Italian. (And don't even say "capiche" correctly. Furthermore, it's "Capisci?" or "Capisco.") They don't know squat about the food -- other than Italian-American food. And they've eschewed the traditional hyper-local food culture for this "abbondanza" thing.

Honestly, I have no idea what to make of it. I find it peculiar to say the least. People I know with names like Charlie Kreuzenheimer don't go around telling people that they're German. But Charlie Bonano? Fuhgeddaboutit. And for some reason, they think that because their great-great-great grandparents left Sicily in 1903, that "food runs in their blood." Some of the most wretched meals I've ever had to politely eat have been from the "I'm Italian, so I know food" crowd.

[logline]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

The closest you can get without buying an airplane ticket is Settebello...

IMO, the pizza margherita is the one to get first. It's basic. A little sauce, some good buffalo mozzarella and basil. That's the standard by which all other pizzas are judged.

And I wouldn't even call a Chicago "pizza" a pie. A pie doesn't have a crust that can only be measured with a yardstick. What they're eating in Illinois is basically a round pagnotta with a sausage casserole on top. There's nothing wrong with that. But it isn't pizza. It isn't even in the same ballpark.

The thing that irks me about the American "our regional pizza is the best" crapola is that it isn't even our national dish. For instance, we're the authority on barbecue. No other country can lay claim to barbecue greatness like America. Someone from Chicago blathering on about pizza is like someone from Milan making grand sweeping assertions about barbecue. Neither one has the necessary street cred.

If an Italian routinely wins trophies on the American barbecue circuit, I'll pay attention to what he or she has to say about barbecue. VPN certification for a pizzeria is like winning a barbecue trophy for a smokehouse. There are only a few dozen VPN-certified pizzerias in America. Settebello is one of them.

This.

I could have written that myself.

[Fastrudy]

Naples 45: Skip the Neapolitan Pizza Here and Get Their New York–Style Slice Instead | Slice Pizza Blog

[Fastrudy]

Just one more....from pizzamakers

VPN Certification

[NLVgal]

I just tried Spaghetti & Company's pizza based on a recommendation from this thread. I liked it. Good cheese.

I also like Lino's and Northside Nathan's- neither of which are NY style though.